President Barack Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with students at the University of Iowa, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. From left are, Blake Anderson, the president, Myranda Burnett, Jordan Garrison-Nickerson, and Martin Lopez. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

High youth unemployment hurts Obama campaign

The latest jobs numbers showing May’s increased unemployment rate obscured other bad news for President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign: Almost 17 percent of younger voters are out of work.

That’s a cause for campaign concern because younger voters lopsidedly supported Obama in 2008 and his organizers now want youth to provide his campaign with volunteers and enthusiasm that could buoy his numbers amid record unemployment, deficits and debt.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on June 1 that 12.1 percent of young people had unsuccessfully looked for a job during the last several weeks.

The underlying data also showed that 1.7 million people aged 18 to 29 had given up looking for jobs.

The news came after a May 9 Gallup report that showed 13.6 percent of 18-to-29 year-olds were unemployed, and 32 percent were underemployed in April. That underemployment rate is up from 30.1 percent in April, and is more than twice the rate for people aged 30 to 64.

This bad news about the youth vote shows that “this demographic … is fully in play in a way that most folks a year ago weren’t predicting,” said Paul Conway, founder of right-leaning non-profit Generation Opportunity, and former chief of staff in the Department of Labor.

Thirty percent of younger voters were undecided, according to the poll. Romney was ahead with white youth.

A large pool of undecideds is generally good for challengers such as Romney because undecideds tend to vote against the incumbent.

Conway’s polls show the same level of disenchantment.

“In 2012, folks are not going to be voting for charisma — they’re going to be voting for a [proven] record,” Conway told The Daily Caller. “They’re more skeptical of government and they want less of it. … They believe the economy grows best when there’s less interference.”

Harvard’s poll reported that only 20 percent agree that government spending is an effective way to increase economic growth, while 32 percent disagreed.

Conway’s operation is focused on the youth vote, and he has a small outreach team, several polls and a Facebook page where younger voters can share their views.

One significant trend, Conway said, is that many younger Americans are cobbling together a living by working several part-time jobs. That’s difficult, he said, because part-time jobs don’t pay as well and are also expensive, because people must pay to travel to and from their different jobs.